COLUMBUS — For the second time in three weeks, Columbus posted a defensive shutout. This time, the victim was visiting Galena as the Titans captured a 21-0 victory in a Class 3A-District 1 contest last week at Cecil Kline Stadium.
That win set up a pivotal showdown on Friday against Frontenac. Both teams head into the matchup with identical 7-0 records, including 4-0 in District 1. The Raiders remained perfect with a 55-6 home win over Baxter Springs. The winner of Friday’s contest will capture the district championship, while the loser will finish as the runner-up.
On the other side, Galena still controls its own postseason destiny following a loss that dropped the team to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in district play. The Bulldogs are all alone in third place in the standings and can clinch a postseason berth with a home win over Parsons on Friday. The Vikings are 2-5 overall and 1-3 in District 1 following a 48-34 home loss to Caney Valley.
The Titans beat Galena last week despite finishing with just 139 total yards of offense.
Columbus jumped ahead 7-0 in the opening quarter on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Cassidy to Clay Saporito.
From there, the game turned into a defensive battle on both sides, resulting in no scoring over the second and third quarters.
CUHS finally opened things up in the final period. Cassidy ran into the end zone from nine yards out. Later, the Titan defense put the capper on the win as Grayson Walden picked off a Galena pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown.
Cassidy, who completed just 4-of-11 passes for 41 yards, was Columbus’ leading rusher with 19 carries for 60 yards.